Read below for information on the Round of 32 series between EV Zug and Eisbaren Berlin. Berlin won 6-1 to advance to the Round of 16.

Preview

Two Central European clubs clash as EV Zug and Eisbaren Berlin meet in the Round of 32 – Zug as group winners and Eisbaren as runners up from a tough group. Both teams overachieved in the group stage by feasting on teams teams that were stronger than them on paper – Zug took all six points from IFK Helsinki, while Die Eisbaren did likewise against former CHL champions Lulea Hockey. Therefore, both will go into this home-and-away engagement confident that they can win. Zug will be the favourites, with more speed and firepower up front, while Berlin will try to turn this into a tight-checking, defensive affair. The Polar Bears also have a wildcard in goaltender Petri Vehanen, who is capable of winning games all by himself.  

Closer look: EV Zug

(3-1-0-0, 11 points, 17:7, 1st in Group G)

It's not a surprise that EV Zug qualified for the CHL's knockout stage for the first time this year. What is a surprise, though, is that they came through as group winners after four straight wins. Their opening 8-3 win in Esbjerg was impressive, although not altogether surprising. Then they went home and beat IFK Helsinki in a tight 2-1 decision. People really stood up and take notice, however, when they went into Helsinki after that and beat IFK 4-1 to claim the group title with an impressive performance. The only point they lost was at home to Danish champions Esbjerg, who took them to a shootout before the Swiss club prevailed. They're off to a solid start domestically in the NLA, which indicates their performance in the CHL group stage was no fluke. They will be favoured in the Round of 32 against Eisbaren Berlin, but nothing is guaranteed.

Carl

Klingberg

2+4, +7

 

Top Forward & CRAMO Top Scorer: Swedish right winger Carl Klingberg was a new acquisition by EV Zug this summer, and he got off to a great start with his new team with 6 points in the CHL group stage. They added the 25-year-old to add size and speed to their top line and he's doing just that. A product of Frolunda, he's spent the past five years playing in the NHL, AHL and KHL. Now in Zug, he and veteran Finnish centre Jarkko Immonen form a formidable offensive duo – Immonen led the team with 4 goals in the group stage.

Rafael

Diaz

1+4, +2

 

Top Defenceman: Zug have also reinforced their defence with the re-acquisition of homegrown talent Raphael Diaz this summer. A product of Zug's youth system, the 30-year-old is back after spending most of the last five seasons in the NHL. His return to the team gives them a real offensive threat from the back end as well, and a quarterback to the power play. He's not the biggest guy, but with the rest of their corps they have the size to handle Berlin's big forwards. Overall, they play a solid defensive game.

Tobias

Stephan

93.15 %

 

Top Goaltender: Tobias Stephan is the undisputed No. 1 goalie in Zug, and he demonstrated that in the group stage with sparkling numbers in his three games. A product of Kloten, he spent a couple years in the Dallas Stars organization, appearing in 11 NHL games, before returning to Switzerland. Now in his third season in Zug, the 32-year-old has been part of the team's failures in the last two CHL campaigns, and is ready to help move them forward into the Round of 16 for the first time. 

Click here for team statistics.

Closer look: Eisbaren Berlin

(2-0-0-2, 6 Points, 12:13, 2nd in Group I)

Eisbaren Berlin weren't given much of a chance to advance from a group that also included teams from Sweden and Finland, but after two wins against Lulea Hockey and two losses against SaiPa Lappeenranta, they finished right in the middle and here they are. They opened with a tight 2-1 home win over Lulea, thanks to great goaltending from Petri Vehanen and a late goal from Frank Hoerdler. Following a 4-2 loss to SaiPa, their playoff chances basically came down to the game in Lulea – a win and they were in, but few gave them a chance. However, Die Eisbaren built up a 4-0 lead and eventually won 5-2, putting the former CHL champs out of the tournament. In their last game in Lappeenranta they had a chance to win the group, but lost 6-3 and finished 2nd. Now they face another big task in EV Zug. It'll be tough, but they've shown in the past that they can do it. 

Nicholas

Petersen

1+3, even

 

Top Forward & CRAMO Top Scorer: Canadian winger Nick Petersen is now in his fourth season in Germany. After putting up solid offensive numbers for Schwenninger and Iserlohn, Berlin acquired him to add to the team's offensive game this season and he did not disappoint in the CHL group stage, with 4 points in four games. He has continued that into the start of the DEL season as well, scoring at over a point per game. Overall, Die Eisbaren are not especially deep with high-scoring forwards, but they do have a lot of big players who can play a physical game and make life miserable for opposing defences. 

Micki

Dupont

1+0, +2

 

Top Defenceman: Another Canadian plays an important part of Berlin's game, and that's veteran defenceman Micki Dupont. While he played 23 NHL games when he was younger, Dupont has made a career for himself in Europe. At 36 years of age, Dupont can still quarterback a power play and produce offensively from the back end – last year he had 39 points in 59 regular season and playoff games. Of note, Dupont played two years in Zug from 2008 to 2010. Besides Dupont, Berlin have a solid defensive corps consisting of German internationals Frank Hoerdler and Constantin Braun.

Petri

Vehanen

90.54 %

 

Top Goaltender: Petri Vehanen is now in his third season as top goalie of Eisbaren Berlin. Career highlights include backstopping Ak Bars Kazan to the 2010 KHL title and Finland to the 2011 World Championship title with a shutout of Sweden in the final. Now almost 39 (his birthday between the two legs), Vehanen doesn't consistently put up the numbers he once did, but he has the ability to rise to the occasion and come up big when his team needs him. Last year, after a mediocre group stage, he was the biggest reason why Die Eisbaren were able to knock off the Stavanger Oilers and become the first German team in the CHL's Round of 16. Now he'll aim for a repeat performance – however, Zug will pose a much more dangerous offensive threat.

Click here for team statistics.